The invention relates to information processing apparatus and more specifically to personal computer systems.
Personal computer systems in general and IBM personal computers in particular have attained widespread use for providing computer power to many segments of today's modern society. Personal computer systems can usually be defined as a desk top, floor standing, or portable microcomputer that consists of a system unit having a single system processor and associated volatile and non-volatile memory, a display monitor, a keyboard, one or more diskette drives, a fixed disk storage, and an optional printer. One of the distinguishing characteristics of these systems is the use of a motherboard, or system planar, to electrically connect these components together. These systems are designed primarily to give independent computing capability to a single user and are inexpensively priced for purchase by individuals or small businesses. Examples of such personal computer systems are IBM's PERSONAL COMPUTER XT and AT and IBM's PERSONAL SYSTEM/2 Models 25, 30, 35, 40, 50, 55, 56, 57, 60, 65, 70, 80, 90, and 95.
These systems can be classified into two general families. The first family, usually referred to as Family I Models, use a bus architecture exemplified by the IBM PERSONAL COMPUTER AT and other "IBM compatible" machines. The second family, referred to as Family II Models, use IBM's MICRO CHANNEL bus architecture exemplified by IBM's PERSONAL SYSTEM/2 Models 50 through 80. Many Family I models have used the popular INTEL 8088 or 8086 microprocessor as the system processor. These processors have the ability to address one megabyte of memory. Certain Family I and most Family II models typically use the high speed INTEL 80286, 80386, 80486, and Pentium microprocessors which can operate in a real mode to emulate the slower speed INTEL 8086 microprocessor or a protected mode which extends the addressing range from 1 megabyte to 4 Gigabytes for some models. In essence, the real mode feature of the 80286, 80386, and 80486 processors provide hardware compatibility with software written for the 8086 and 8088 microprocessors.
When the PS/2 system is turned on the user is confronted with a blank screen and eventually a flashing cursor. Today's PS/2 POST takes at least 30 seconds to execute from power-on to the start of the operating system. If POST does not detect any errors, the blank screen is displayed throughout the entire duration of POST. If POST detects an error, a corresponding error message is displayed on the screen. All error messages and information from the system POST are displayed in text mode. Additionally, error messages and information from Microchannel adapters are also displayed in text mode
When an IBM PS/2 computer is turned on, the Power-On Self Test (POST) program begins execution. POST is primarily responsible for testing and initializing the PS/2 computer. Today, the user is presented with a blank screen until POST has completed and the operating system takes over control of the system. It is desirable to display a graphical image, such as the IBM logo, during POST instead of a blank screen. A method is needed to display a POST graphical image.
It is difficult to store a graphical image of any size into the space constrained "system ROM". A 640.times.320 graphical image stored in the standard 16-color BMP format is approximately 100,000 bytes in size. A method is needed to store the POST graphical image in the "system ROM".
POST has been written to display all error and information messages in videotext mode 3. System POST and adapter POS display all messages via video BIOS, Interrupt 10 Hex. A method is needed for system POST to display error messages in a manner that is compatible with graphical image. A method is also needed for system POST to display text information on the same screen as the graphical image.
System POST gives control over to each installed Microchannel adapter during adapter ROM scan. Adapter POST is contained on the adapter itself and cannot be modified. A method is needed for adapter POST to display adapter text information in a manner that is compatible with a graphical image.
It is desirable to display the POST graphical image as early as possible during POST. Retrieving the graphical image data from the disk is not possible since the SCSI disk subsystem is not tested and initialized until the end of POST. The POST Building Block method of testing the computer system prohibits moving the SCSI disk subsystem initialization to the beginning of POST. Therefore, the graphical image must be stored in the "system ROM". The size of a graphical image is very large relative to the available space in the "system ROM". A method is needed to store a large graphic image within the confines of a tight "system ROM".
In addition, when and IBM PS/2 computer is turned on, the Power-On Self Test (POST) program begins execution. POST is primarily responsible for testing and initializing the PS/2 computer. POST displays a graphical image, usually the IBM logo, while executing. It would be desirable to give the user the ability to change the POST graphical image. A method is needed to install a new POST graphical image on the PS/2 system.
The ability to install a new graphical image allows the user to individualize the PS/2 computer. Because of the flash technology and advanced security features of the PS/2, it is impossible to replace the graphical image without a privileged access password. A method is needed to allow the PS/2 user to easily install a new POST graphical image.